The title of the work is Τῶν μετὰ τὰ φύσικα (literally, "of the things after physics"). This is generally supposed to mean that this is just a collection of works that later editors placed after Aristotle's treatises on physics, but it may well mean that the budding philosopher should study these subjects after studying physical matters such as motion, time, and animal life. It was probably written while Aristotle was teaching at the Lyceum, i.e. between 336 and 323 B.C. Earlier Greek philosoph ...
Many scholars believe that Aristotle's works as we have them today are little more than lecture notes. Many of his works are extremely compressed and baffling to beginners. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Metaphysics. Avicenna reportedly said that he read the work forty times without understanding it.
In the 19th century, with the rise of textual criticism, the Metaphysics was examined anew. Critics, noting the wide variety of topics and the seemingly illogical order of the books, concluded that it was actually ...
Book Alpha: Outlines "first philosophy", a knowledge of the first principles or causes of things. Historical survey of previous philosophies from Thales to Plato, especially their treatment of causes. Little alpha: Further remarks on how to search for truth. Beta: A listing of metaphysical puzzles (aporiai), proposed for consideration but not definitively answered; e.g., does anything exist apart from individual things? Gamma: Starts on "the science of being qua being", in particular the principle of non-contradiction. Delta ("philoso ...
